Former Fielding Coach Takes Cheeky Dig At Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri

image-leh2kk4jR Sridhar criticises Kohli, Shastri [Twitter]

The Indian team had a weakness going into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019- they didn't have a reliable No. 4 batter. The Virat Kohli led side experimented with different players throughout the tournament, but it ultimately cost them in their semi-final match against New Zealand, resulting in their elimination from the competition. Even to this day, the Indian fielding coach R Sridhar laments the No. 4 issue, saying that it could have been prevented.

Sridhar, has expressed regret over the team's inability to identify a solid No. 4 batter ahead of the the tournament. The team tried out multiple candidates during the tournament, but none of them were able to make a half-century.

The former coach, in his book 'Coaching Beyond', wrote that No. 4 is a crucial position in the batting order and requires a player who can strike at 80-90 runs per 100 balls and finish with a strike rate of 100. He added that the team didn't give any candidate enough time to settle down and learn from their failures.

The 52-year old further stated that the team wanted immediate results and moved on to the next candidate if someone failed in two or three games. He acknowledged that the team had ample time to identify a suitable candidate for the position, but failed to do so.

The former first-class cricketer believes that the team's inability to settle on a No. 4 batter was a mistake that could have been avoided. He also noted that the team missed a major trick by not discussing the No. 4 position enough.

According to southpaw, the team overlooked the significance of the position and got carried away by the fact that they had a strong top-three and exceptional finishers. He concluded by saying that the team's failure to identify a solid No. 4 batter was a process-driven mistake and that there is a lesson in it for think tanks going forward.

Sridhar expressed confidence that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, who currently Indian team’s captain and head coach respectively, would not make the same mistake going into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.